This is for some artists, harder than doing the work itself and the ‘What shall I create question really comes back to why are you painting/creating? I think at some time or other that all creative people struggle with this issue, and the truth is, that the more disconnected you are from yourself the harder this question is going to be for you. This week, a girlfriend Prue, and I, began a series of Thursday night Skype sessions to help us stay connected with our own creative processes. Our first session, scheduled for half an hour ended up taking two hours instead. However we finished with a great result.

One of the things that came up in the course of the conversation was the issue of being blocked, where to get inspiration and so on. As a result of this conversation, we have decided to make a series of short videos, only 30-60 seconds. Just very short bytes of the creative’s life. Now the main reason we have embarked on this process is to help her, a budding film director, get past her screen writing block and begin doing some of the stuff that she loves to do instead of getting overwhelmed by a huge project. Of course it will also have a great result for me as well as I will have 6 beautifully crafted short video bytes I can use in my own career as an artist.

The other benefit for both of us in this partnership is an interesting journey and story to share with our social media friends and followers. So perhaps you can think of a friend you might partner with to help push both your careers forward. Prue and I live 80 Kilometers apart – not too far to collaborate physically, but easy to stay in touch through technology. We are also working in different media – which can be an asset, as we are both creative, yet bring different ideas to the table. Collaboration can also serve to keep you motivated and on track and help you to extend your own network, opening up new markets, collectors and mavens.

Next week I will talk about this same issue from a couple of different points of view in terms of a visual artist.

This week’s question:Who can I find to collaborate with?

Look For Thursday’s Post: Mt Taranaki III revisited.…

Next Monday’s Post: More on Thursday evening’s chat…..Creativity Conversations